Press



Oct. 18, 1938. R. TEMPLE. JR

PRESS Filed Oct. 7, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. /4-fe4 I v ATTORNEYS.

wlmmsfs Oct. 18, 1938. R TEMPLE JR 2,133,364

" PRESS Filed Oct. 7, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESSES I Pate ted Oct. 18, i938 .TU I B TATE ATEN -OF 1 p g i Robert Temnlz z 'f rlttsburgh, Pa.

. avApplication October '1, 1936,. Serial-No. romeo reclaims. i]. 49-113),

This invention relates to presses and more particularly to portable apparatusfor'joining together pipes, tubes, cables, and thelike to'pro vide asatisfactory electrical or other joint.

It is the generalbbjectbf' my-tinvention to provide a light weight and truly. portable but,

strong and rugged press for securing together electric cables, rods, wirehrope wpipes and the i like by the power developed from explosive means. Another and more specific object of my invention is the provision of an electrically shockproof. pistol type and replaceable associated die'members moved together, and against the material worked on by trigger controlled explosive means. J Another object of my invention is to provide an explosively actuated'press with fool-proof trigger mechanism "and a safety catch wherein the number of working parts is reduced to a minimum and they are constructed and arranged to provide the greateststrength, ease of v operation and durability. 1.

. Another object of my inventionis the provision of a substantially noiseless explosive press wherein} the moving parts can be readily removed and cleaned. i

Another object of my invention is to provide an explosive press {of the pistol-type with a simpli-.

i fled removable breech block carrying the firing pm wherein the press cannot be accidentally actuated until the breech block is completely Q locked in operating position.

- The foregoing and other objects of my inventi'on arelachieved by the provision of a press? M comprising a C-frame having opposed arm-porl -tions,'one of slidably receivinga pistonmovable etc and from which is provided with a bore the other arm portion. A breech is associated with the arm portion slidably carrying the piston and is adapted to receive an explosive charge,

"such as a blank cartridge. A breech block rew provided with an axial bore corresponding to the In the. accompanying drawings Fig.1 illus-.

tratesa top plan view of a" press incorporating .the principles of my invention; Fig. 2 is aver- 55 tical longitudinal sectional view takenon line of press having a C-frame.

. provide the breech slots cut in the IIII of Fig. 1'; Fig. 3 is an elevation of the breech block endof the press of my invention; and "Fig. 4 is a fragmentary. view similar to Fig. 2 of a modified form of my invention having an interchangeable. die. a

While as heretofore indicated my improved press is capable of use in many relations dependent upon the type of working dies employed. the size of the press and the power developed thereby, it is particularly adapted to connect electric cables by the use of a metal coupling sleeve. The sleeve receives the ends of the cables and is pressed into intimate electrical and mechanical engagement with the cables. Accordingly my invention has been so illustrated and will be-thus described. Referring to the drawings, the numeral l0 indicates as a whole'a C-frame or body which is formed with opposed arms l2 and M. The arm I is provided with a cylindrical bore which receives a sleeve or liner It in turn slidably receiving a' piston l8 movable to and from the opposed arm I2. The liner I6 is removably fixed in position by a breech 20 threaded into a suitably tapped and enlarged portion of the bore of the -arm ll. To prevent any possible leakage between the liner l6 and around the breech 20 I preferably employ a sealingwasher 22 of copper or. other soft metal between the abutting ends of the liner l6 and the breech 20. j

The breech 2D is formed with an axial bore 2! which is adaptedto receive an explosive charge ordinarily in the former a blank cartridge 25 i of any desired powder-carrying content. Inorder to assist in removing the blank cartridge 26 from the bore 24 after the cartridge has been fired,

I have found it advisable but not essential to 20 with a cap 28 having a circular flange 3 0 extending over the reduced end portion of the breech as will be evident from Fig. 2 of the drawings. The. breech. cap 28 is bore 24 of the breech proper and is appropriately.

the blank cartridge is substantially flush with the outer face of the breech cap 28.

Removably secured to .the arm ll of the 6- frame I 0 is a breech block 36 which closes the breech opening in a manner which willbe understood by those skilled in the art. Preferably the breech block 36 is formedrwith laterally extending bayonet fingers 38 of well known bayonet Joint character which are received in bayonet endof the arm II. By these I ment away from the trigger.

I of a flange 82. 1

the end of the bore of the arm I4 adjacent the end of the breech 20 and given a partial rotation about its axis and thereby locked in position. To look the breech block in'closing position I, provide a finger or detcnt 42 which is slidably carried in the breech block and urged by a spring 43 towards the arm I4. It will be understood that the spring position detent 42 engages in a notch or groove 44 in the arm when the breech block is in its closing position. I

Carried in the breech block 36 is a firing pin 46 movable into firing engagement with the blank cartridge 28. The position of the firing pin 48 is controlled by the provision of a rocker 48 pivotally carried about a pinv 50 in a slot 52 formed on the back of the breech block. The rocker 48' is normally urged" away from the firing pin 48 by means of a spring 58. The end of the rocker 48 opposite the firing pin 46 engages with a slidably positioned button 60 carried in an aperture in the breech block and held against falling. out of the breech blockby means The hammer and trigger mechanism for moving the firing pin 46, rocker 48 and button 80- just' described will now be considered. Handgrip, 86 is secured to the C-frame I in any suitable manner as by the provision of cooperating tongues and grooves indicated generally at 68. The grip.86 is mounted below a slot l0formed in the C-frame I0 and extending into a circular. recess I2 which slidably receives a hammer I4 normally urged by a coiled compression spring I8 toward the button 80. The grip 68 is formed with a slot 80 which is in alignment with the slot I0 of the C-frameand the aligned slots re-" ceive'atrigger 82and a safety catch 84 pivotally supported respectively on pins 88 and 68. The trigger 82 is providecl'with a fiat spring 90 which is secured to the trigger at the point 92 so that the upper end of the flat spring is free formove- The hammer I4- is provided with a downwardly extending lug 96 behind which the fiat spring 90 of the trigger 82 engages, The trigger is normally urged to its full line position shown-by a coiled oompres, sion spring'98 operating through'a pin I00 which engages with the trigger 82, as shown in Fig. 2.

The safety catch 84 is formed with a stop I04 having a cammed upper surface and the hammer' 14 is provided with adownwardly extending lug I08 which is adapted to engage behind the stop I04, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The safety? catch 84 is normally urged upwardly toward the hammer 14 by a ribbon spring I08 carried by a.

The-safety catch 84 is also provided with a finger H2 which block IIO secured to the grip 68.

engages with the back side of the trigger 82; when the safety catch is in the on position. Further completing the trigger safety 'catch and hammer mechanism is a lug II4 on the hammer I4 which lug is adapted to slide upon the cammed upper surface of the stop I04 of'the safety catch 84 when the press is actuated as hereinafter described.

While the grip 88 is ordinarily made of metal and in some installations" need notbe insulated against electrical shock, I preferably construct.

it so that the press can be used near or, even on electric cables carrying live current without transmitting the electric current into the grip of the press. In theembodiment of my inventionushown, this is achieved by forming the grip 88 of somewhat reduced size and providing a' 2,183,864 means the breech block can be introduced into central aperture I20 therein. Fiber, hard rubber or other electrical insulating means are molded in the form of a grip and are secured over the outside of the grip 88 as for example by the provisions of screws I22 which extend through an insulating block I24 receives in the aperture I20. A trigger guard I30 is secured to the grip 86 and the C-frame I0 to prevent accidental operation of the trigger in the use of the press.

,The arm I2 of the ,C-frame I0 is adapted to receive and support during the working operation the materials operated upon. Since the embodiment of the invention illustrated and described relates to connecting electric cables together the letters C indicate multi-strand cables havingtheir ends extending into a metal sleeve S. The arm I2 of the C-frame is preferably formed with a permanent die I34 or other working surface, as shown in Fig. 2, adapted to receive the sleeve S. However, in order to adapt the press to operations on; cables and sleeves oi difierent size and to allow also for changes of the character "of the dies, I may provide a structure as shown in Fig. 4 wherein; the arm I2 is formed with a channel I32 adapted to releasably receive a die I34azof any desired characteristic, as for example semi-circular as shown. Means such as a spring positioned ball I38m-ay be provided to releasably retain the die I34 in the channel I 32. The piston I8removably carries a cooperating.

-die I40 having, for example, parallel ribs I4I with the piston then being suddenly released to,

strike a blower maximum power. Means for retainingthe piston-against -movement; until a desired pressure has been built up-may take -a a plurality of forms. I preferably, however, provide a spring-positioned detent I44 which is slidably carried in the arm I4 of the C-frame I0 and has an end portion extending into a slight aperture in a hardened block I46 carried bythe piston I8. The detent I44 is resiliently held in engagement with 'the aperture of block I48 by a ribbon spring I48, secured to the arm I4 by screws I50. By making thehead of the piston which carries the block I48 of slightly greater diameter than the remainder of the piston as shown in thedrawings once the block I48 has moved out from under the detent I 44 the piston is-free to move without contact with the deent.

Prefer-ably the-entire press is insulated against electricity and this is achieved by first brass plating the relatively hard and high tensile metal, generally chrome steel, comprising the press parts. Once; the parts are brass plated a thin layer of rubber I80 can be vulcanized to the press parts and a permanent and satisfactory union therebetween obtained. This rubber layer also acts as a cushionfor thepress surface and prevents jars and scratches to the press. or the articles contacted thereby.

.In the operation of the press the piston I8 is positioned as shown in Fig. 2 prior to the loading of -the.-.pr.=ess and thedetent 'I44,urged downwardly by'the ribbon spring I48, engages'with the block- I46 to hold the pistonin this position. The desired .die blocks I34; I34a and I40 are formedon or secured to the arm I2 of the frame and to the piston I 8, respectively, so that the desired character or work can be performed by the press. In the loading operation the breech block 36 is removed by first moving detent 42 out I 20 has fallen into notch 44 in the frame. a

of the groove 44 and then turning the breech block about its longitudinal axis so that the bayonet fingers 38 of the block are released from the bayonet slots 40 of thearm I4. With the breech block removed a blank cartridge 26 is placed in the bore of the breech cap 28 and extends into the bore 24 of the breech in a manner clearly shown in Fig. 2. Breech block 36 is then replaced by a reversal of the operation described just above and when the button 60 carried by the breech block is in alignment withthe hammer I4 *the detent 42 will beurged into the groove 44 of I the arm I4 by the compression spring 43. It will be recognized that accidental release of the hammer 14 during the-assemblyof the breech block and the C-frame can not cause firing of the blank cartridge at any premature time due to the fact that the button 60 is not in alignment with the hammer 14 until such time asthe detent catch 42 During the removal and assembly of the breech .block 36 to load the press the hammer I4, trigger 62. and safety catch 84 are in the positions illustrated in Fig. 2, so that the hammer is positively held against movement. This is due to the stop I 04 on the safety catch engaging behind the lug -I06 on the hammer and because the flat spring 90 of the trigger 82' engages behind the opposed lu 96 on the hammer 14 with the finger II2 on the safety catch holding the trigger and safety catch relatively fixed. I The material to be worked on in the instant case (cable endsC to be connected'by a metal sleeves) is now placed in the die i34 asshown and the press is readyfor the compressing and joining operation achieved by firing of the explosive charge,i. e., the blank cartridge 26. When operated, the press is generally supported ,through the grip 66 with one or both hands and the safety catch 84 is pushed down so that the grip 66 in accordance with known procedure and the flat spring 90 engages with the lug 96-of the 45 hammer I4 and slidably carries the hammer back in its recessagainst theaction of the compression spring'IB, .Since the trigger pin 66 is positioned the hammer from the trigger causes the hammer 0 ,to move suddenly in theopposlte direction to i hereby imparta sharp hammer blow to the button 60carried in the breech block 36. The button 60 moves against the rocker 48 which turns about pin 50 tomove firing pin 46 into detonating 5 contact withtheblank cartridge 26.

I very rapid expansion of gases under explosive pressures and when these pressures have built up almost instantaneously to substantially their maximum the pressure on the piston I8 is suflioient tonovercome the resistance ofthe spring I detent I44 holding the piston against movement and the piston is driven with high velocity and I0. The die I40 carried by the front of the pisstop I04 moves below the lug I06 on the hammer I4. The trigger 82 is then pulled towards the Firing of the blank cartridge 26 results in the great force towards the arm I2 of the c-frame ton I8 engages with the sleeve S carried in the die block I34 and effectively compresses the sleeve ends of the cable C. n

Returning to the relation of the trigger, safety catch and hammer mechanisms, once the hamm'er has moved to fire the blank cartridge 26 the safety catch 84 is held in a position out of engagement with the trigger 82 since the lug I I4 carried by the hammer rides upon the cammed upper surface of the stop I04 to hold thesafety catch 84 down against the action of the spring I08. This means that the finger II2 of the safety catch 84 is above the upper end of the trigger 82 so that the coiled spring 98 mounted in the grip 66 returns thetriggerto and slightly past its original position. This movement is possible since the upper end of the trigger proper passes under the lug 96 on the hammer I4 and the flat I spring 90 carried by the trigger bends about its support 92, slides over the lug 96 asthe upper end of the trigger moves on by the lug and then the springitself. snaps past the lug 96 and again lies in engagement with the upper portion of the trigger.

Now by pulling the trigger as if to fire, the flat spring 90backed by the upper end of the trigger engages with the lug 96 on the hammer I4 and moves up to bring stop I04 into engagement with lug I06 on the hammer. As this action occurs the finger II2 on the safety catch falls down behind the upper end of the trigger 82 and the parts are againin the full line position shown in Fig. 2 and are ready for the next firing operation.

It will accordingly be evident that the press 1 cannot accidentally be'aotuated inasmuch as the safety catch 84 issubstantially fool-proof and must be intentionally operated before the trigger 82 can be pulled. It is impossible to accidentally fire by operating the safety catch and trigger prior to having the breech block 36 in its fully locked-on position, since the button carried I by the breech block is only in alignment with the hammer when the detent 42 is in looking engagement with the notch 44 of the arm I 4. A

After the operation of the press as just described, the detent 42 is" moved back against the action of spring 43 and the breech block is removed by a partial rotary movement about its own axis and the piston I8 is then pushed back away from the sleeve S which action usually pops the fired or empty shell of the blank cartridge 26 out of the breech 20 and breech cap 28.

If for any reason the cartridge sticks in the breech the breech cap 28 is readily removed and the fired shell easily extracted from the cap. A new and unfired cartridge is then inserted through the flbreech cap 28 into the bore-24 of the breech, the breech block is replaced, and the press operated again to perform any desired work, perhaps, for example, to take another longitudinally spaced compressive bite on the sleeve S or to operate upon another sleeve as will be understood.

Removal of the piston I8 from the arm I4 of the frame is facilitated by making the overall length of the piston proper slightly less than the distance between the opposed arms I2 and I4.

. Thus, when the die I 40 is removed from the end of the breech 22 of the press. However, when the 'die i is secured to-the end of the piston the forward movement of the piston as a result ofthe firing of the blank cartridge 26 is terminated with a substantialportion of the piston l8 still in the liner l6 and arm id. Thus the expanded gases under high. pressuresare retained against sudden release into the atmosphere and the operation of the press is accordinglysubstantially noiseless with the gases condensing or escaping gradually and quietly after a pressing operation.

The insulating cover of rubber I60 uponthe press and the insulated grip 60 particularlyadapts the press to use in connecting electrical cables where certain associated cables are carrying electricity. 'Any danger of shock to the user of the press and the'likelihood of short circuits between adjacent cables is reduced to a minimum and I have found the feature novel and advantageous. 1

It will be seen that the objectsof the inventionhave been achieved ,by the provision of a light weight portable press of sturdy and dependable construction which is readily loaded and fired, and which is adapted to perform a plurality of pressingoperatlons.

Particularly l. have provided a pistol press which in one commercialform weighs less than nine pounds but which will connect electric ca bles up to one inchin diameter under pressures of as high as 25,000 pounds per square inch. The

' apparatus includes safety features whereby the press cannot be operated except when the breech is fully closed and locked in place and wherein moreover safety catch mechanism is incorporated with the operating trigger so that the trigger cannot accidentally be pulled.

- The press is quiet in operation, readily cleaned and is insulated against shortcircuiting or shock from electricity.

While in accordance with the patent statutes one embodiment of my invention has been illustrated and described in detail, it will be appreci-. ated that the invention isnot limited thereto or thereby but is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A pistol-type press comprising a C-frame having opposed arm portions, a piston slidably carried in a bore in one arm portion and movable to and from the" other arm portion, means holding the piston against movement until substantially a maximum pressure has been built up behind the piston, a breech mounted in the first-named arm portion in alignment with the piston and adapted to receive an explosive charge, a breech block removably closing the breech,

mechanism associated with the breech block and allowing firing of the explosive charge only when the breech block is fully secured, a hand-grip on the Cframe, trigger mechanism associated'with the grip and controlling the firing of the explosive charge, a safety catch directly engaging and reface of the frameand grip against electricshock.

2. A press comprising a C frame having opposed arm portions, a piston slidably carried in a bore in one arm portion and movable to and from the other arm portion, means holding the piston against movement until substantially a maximum pressure has been built up behind the piston, a breech removably mounted in the first-named arm portion in'alignment with the piston and adapted to receive. an explosive charge, a breach block removably closing the breech, mechanism associated with the breech block and allowing firing of the explosive charge only when the breech block is fully secured, mechanism con trolling the firing of the explosive charge, a safety catch releasably holding the firing mechanism against'movement, die means removably carried by the piston and by the opposed frame arm por- I ceive an explosive charge, a breech block having a breech block connection with the frame and removably closing the breech, mechanism associated with the breech block and allowing firing of the explosive charge only when the breech block is fully secured mechanism controlling the firing of the explosive charge, a safety catch releasably holding the firing mechanism against movement, and die means carried by the piston and by the opposed frame arm portion for engaging with and performing work on material placed betweenthe dies. 7

4. A press comprising a c-framehaving opposed arm portions, -a piston slidably carried in a bore in one arm portion-and movable to and from the other arm portion, means holding the piston against movement until substantially a maximum pressure has been built up behind the piston, a breech mounted in the first-:named arm portion in alignment with the piston and adapted to receive an explosive charge, a breech block removably closing the breech, mechanism associated with the breech block and allowing firing of the .explosive charge only when the breech block is fully secured, a hand-grip on the C- frame, trigger mechanism associated with the grip and controlling the firing of the explosive charge, a safety catch engaging directlywith the .trigger mechanism and releasably holding it against mo ement, and die means removably carried by the piston and by the opposed frame arm portion for engaging with and performing I work onmaterial placed between the dies.

5. A press comprising a frame having opposed arm portions, a sleeve in a borein one arm portion, a piston slidably carried in the sleeve and movable to and from the other arm portion, a breech mounted in the first-named arm portion in alignment with the piston and adapted. to receive an explosive charge, said breech sealing against the end of the sleeve, a breech block removably closing the breech, trigger mechanism associated with the frame and controlling the firing of the explosive charge, and die means carried by the piston and by the opposed frame arm portion for engaging with and performing work on material placed between the dies.

6-. A- press comprising a frame having opposed arm portions, a piston slidably carried in a bore in one arm portion and movable to and from the behind the piston and adapted to receive an explosive charge, a breech cap removably positioned other arm portion, a breech mounted in the firstnamed arm portion in alignment with the piston and'adapted to receive a cartridge, a breech block removably closing the breech, a cartridge extractorcap removably clamped between the breech and the breech block, trigger mechanism 1 controlling the firing of the explosive charge, and die means carried by the piston and by the opposed frame arm portion for engaging with and performing work on material placed between the dies.

7. Apress comprising a frame, a die carried by the frame, a piston slidably mounted in the frame for movement to and from the die, means releasabiy holding the piston away from the die, a mating die carried by the end of the piston, a breech behind the piston and adapted to receive an explosive charge, a breech block removabiy secured over the breech, a firing pin carried by the breech block, a rocker carried by the breech block for moving the firing pin, a hammer slidably carried in the frame and engageable with the rocker only when the breech block is completelysecured to close the breech. a trigger for controlling the operation of the hammer, a

safety catch for controlling operationof the trigger, and a surface layer of electric insulating material over the press.

8.'A press comprising a frame, a die-carried by the frame, a piston slidably mounted in the r frame for movement to and from the die, means breech, a trigger for controlling the operation of the hammer, and a safety catch engaging with both the hammer and the trigger for controlling operation of the trigger.

9. A press comprising a frame, a die carried by the frame. a piston slidably mounted in the Q frame for movement to and from the die, a matingdiecarried by the end of the piston,'a breech behind the piston and adapted to receive an explosive charge, a breech block, means for securing the breech block over the breech, a firing pin carried by the breech block, a rocker carried Y by the breech block for moving the firing pin,

a hammer slidably carried in the frame and en:- gageabie withthe rocker only when the breech block is completely secured to close the breech,

-a trigger for controlling the operation of the hammer, and a safety catch for controlling operation of the trigger.

10. A press comprising a frame, a die carried by the frame, a piston slidably mounted in the frame for movement to and from the die, a mating die carried by the end of the piston, a breech over the breech and adapted to receive at least part of the explosive charge, a breech block, means for securing the breech block over the breech cap and holding both the cap and block in position, and means for firing the explosive charge.

11. A press comprising a frame. a die carried by the frame, a piston slidably mounted in the frame for movement to and from the die, means releasabiy holding the piston away from the die. a mating die removably carried by the end of the piston, a breech behind'the piston and adapted to receive an explosive charge, means for removably closing the breech, and means for firing the explosive charge to move the piston and mating die with explosive force against material placed between the dies, said apparatus being so constructed and arranged that the piston is removable from the frame only when no material is between the dies and when the mating die is removed from'the piston whereby in operation no sudden release of the gases of the fired explosive charge occurs but the piston can readily be removed to allow the press to be cleaned.

12. A press comprising a frame, a die carried by the frame, a piston slidably mounted in the frame for movement to and from the die, a mating die .removably carried by the end of the piston, a breech behind the piston and adapted to receive an explosive charge, means for removably closing the breech, and means for firing the explosive charge to move the piston and mating die with expiosive force against material placed between the dies, said piston being of such length that it is removable from the frame only when no material is between the dies and when the mating die is removed from the piston whereby in operation no sudden release of the gases of the fired explosive charge occurs but the piston can readily be removed to allow the press to be cleaned.

13. A piston-type press comprising a frame, relatively movable dies carried by the frame, explosive means for moving the dies, means for detonating the explosive means including a hammer slidably mounted in the frame, a compres-- sion spring resiliently holding the hammer against movement in one direction, a safety catch releasabiy holding the hammer against movement in the same direction, a trigger engaging with the hammer and constructed and arranged when pulled with the safety catch released to move the hammer and compress the compression spring and to thereafter release the hammer so that it detonates the explosive means under the energy of the compression spring, and a finger on thesafety catch extending into engagement with the trigger when the safety catch is on and preventing movement of the, trigger and thus the hammer is detonating direction.

ROBERT TEMPLE, JR. 

